The corporate town was established in 1857 due to the township's residents' dissatisfaction at being governed by three different district councils.

The Town of Gawler is located within the officially declared boundaries of the Adelaide metropolitan area.

Residents of the township of Gawler, at the confluence of the North and South Para rivers, were dissatisfied with the state of local governance.

The township intersects four separate cadastral divisions, being at the corners of the hundreds of Mudla Wirra, Nuriootpa, Barossa and Munno Para.

Council consists of 11 Elected Members comprising a Mayor, and 10 Area Councillors.The current council as of November 2022[update] is:[4] As of 2023, 41 people have served as mayor of Gawler in 58 terms of office since the first to hold the position, Richard James Turner, in 1857.