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A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

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

At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.