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A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage showed a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

A day after the alleged incident, the city leader stated that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She added the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.

At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.