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A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council said that surveillance video showed a person placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the judge she was ill, according to 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 said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

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

When the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.