WHEN it was time for the letter ‘G’ in Sunrise’s ‘A-Z of Australia’ segment, Gawler got the call, and over the course of the morning the country got a small taste of what the town has to offer.

Done completely over video chats, Sunrise interviewed local businesses and institutions, such as Maxine’s Baked Potatoes and the Gawler Wheelers, to give some spotlight to the people that form the beating heart of Gawler.

Daniel Down, who is an admin for popular local Facebook pages ‘I’m from Gawler’ and ‘Gawler in Photographs’, said he was surprised to see a message from a Channel 7 producer pop into his page’s inbox.

“I guess he asked me because of the ‘I’m from Gawler’ page, which is pretty much the most popular Gawler Facebook page since it’s coming up to 9000 members,” he said.

“I spoke with the producer a bit about what we’d be discussing, but straight out of the blue the presenter just asked me what the page was about and what we do.

“It was short, but I just spoke about how we promote the local community and keep everybody informed… once my bit was done I needed to get to work, so I buggered off.”

Mr Down, 41, was born in the UK, but moved to Gawler as a teenager in 1993 and has since fallen in love with the area.

“I originally moved out from the UK pretty much straight to Gawler, and I’ve just sort of been here ever since,” he said.

“Initially the ‘I’m from Gawler’ page was started by a girl at school… eventually she got another admin, and that admin brought me on because we were friends, and because I love going out and taking pictures and getting more involved with the community.

“I love walking down the main street and having someone say ‘hey Daniel, how are you going’… as you get older I think you appreciate where you live more, or where you come from.

“I’ve always gone by that motto ‘the best of town and country’, and I know it’s probably changed a little bit since then, but it still has its charm.”

Executive officer of the Gawler Business Development Group, Caren Brougham, said while she would have liked a bit more than a day to organise appearances, she’s proud of the way the town was represented.

“It was good – I’ve been watching what they’ve been doing with other towns as well and it’s certainly great exposure,” she said.

“It just would have been nice to have a full day beforehand and to see some more Gawler businesses up there.”