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A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

The following day the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

The mayor said the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.