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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.

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

Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video captured a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the judge she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

The mayor said the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.

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

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.