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A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a large art piece of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

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

In a statement at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video captured a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.

The following day the alleged incident, the city leader stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

The mayor 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 mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.

Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.