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A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video captured a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and told the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

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

At the time the artwork was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and appearance.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.