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A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a large art piece of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.

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

In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a individual 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 unwell, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the stickers could not be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism 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 costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

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

At the time the artwork was first proposed, it received varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.

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