The corvette participated in the Allied invasion of Sicily, rescued survivors from the torpedoed troopship Yoma, and on one occasion escorted a convoy in the Atlantic.

At the war's end, the corvette was tasked with mine-clearing and anti=piracy operations around Hong Kong, then sent to the Molucca Islands to inspect former Japanese facilities.

In 1938, the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board (ACNB) identified the need for a general purpose 'local defence vessel' capable of both anti-submarine and mine-warfare duties, while easy to construct and operate.

[5] The need for locally built 'all-rounder' vessels at the start of World War II saw the "Australian Minesweepers" (designated as such to hide their anti-submarine capability, but popularly referred to as "corvettes") approved in September 1939, with 60 constructed during the course of the war: 36 ordered by the RAN, 20 (including Gawler) ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and four for the Royal Indian Navy.

[10] Upon entering service in September 1942, Gawler was briefly based at Fremantle as an anti-submarine patrol vessel before being assigned to the British Eastern Fleet and ordered to sail to Colombo.

[11] In July, Gawler was involved in the Allied invasion of Sicily, and in August the corvette sailed into the Atlantic to meet a Mediterranean-bound convoy.

[9] She remained with the Pacific Fleet until after the end of World War II; operating in Hong Kong waters during September with mine-warfare and anti-piracy duties, before sailing to the Molucca Islands and spending the rest of 1945 providing surveillance of former Japanese positions in the area.