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A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council said that surveillance video captured a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the court she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

A day after the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

The mayor added the local government would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and design.

Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.