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

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

The mayor said the local government would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.

When the artwork was first proposed, it received varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and design.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.