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A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.

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

In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage captured a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.

The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

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

When the sculpture was first proposed, it received varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.

Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.