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

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused did not enter a plea and informed the court she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the reported event, the city leader said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

She said the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it received varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.

Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.