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A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with one count of damaging property.

Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a individual placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.

A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers could not be removed without damaging the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

She said the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.

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

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.