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A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the judge recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable 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 society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

She said the council would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.

Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.