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A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video captured a individual placing artificial 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 upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

The mayor said the local government would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.

At the time the artwork was first proposed, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.

Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.