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A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.

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

In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a person putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.

A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without harming the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She said the local government would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.

When the sculpture was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.