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A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of property damage.

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

The accused made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

She added the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.

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

Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.