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

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

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

A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without harming the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She said the local government would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.