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A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video captured a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

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

At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.

Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.