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A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of damaging property.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.

A day after the reported event, the local mayor stated that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

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

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.

Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.