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A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council said that CCTV footage showed a individual putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in December.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor stated that repairs to the popular public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

The mayor added the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.

At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.