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A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a person putting artificial 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, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers could not be removed without damaging the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

The mayor added the local government would seek the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.

At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and design.

Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.