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A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.

Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in December.

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

“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

The mayor added the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.

When the artwork was first proposed, it received 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 mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.