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A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of damaging property.

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

The accused did not enter a plea and told the judge she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

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 intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

The mayor said the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.

When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and design.

Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.