Attending Adelaide's prestigious Scotch College, Gunn pursued a career as a farmer and grazier. He served as on the Streaky Bay Council between 1966 and 1970. In 1970, he was elected to the House of Assembly as a member of the Liberal and Country League (which became the South Australian division of the Liberal Party in 1974) for Eyre in South Australia's vast northern outback. Aged 27 at the time, he was one of the youngest politicians in Australia at the time.