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A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, charged with one count of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a individual putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

The following day the alleged incident, the city leader said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

She said the local government would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible 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 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.