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

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in December.

A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without harming the sculpture.

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

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

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

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.