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A young person from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.

In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video captured a person putting fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.

A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor said that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the stickers could not be removed without damaging the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She said the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £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”.