Sunny Singh was already well-known for his community efforts in Port Augusta when he decided to run for city council.
But on the brink of starting his political career, he found himself the subject of an unprovoked attack.
Remarkably, it was the start of an unlikely friendship.
Sunny Singh is reluctant to talk about the moment that nearly overshadowed the start of his political life.
“To start with, it was bad. But it ended up all good,” says Mr Singh.
Mr Singh, a Sikh man who has lived in South Australia for a decade, was a first-time candidate in Port Augusta’s council elections when a video circulated online.
“This is Australia… no butter chicken and naan for lunch. Just a meat sandwich like the rest of us. Do what they do in India - get it india,” (sic).
Many condemned the video, including newly elected Port Augusta Mayor Brett Benbow.
“He didn’t show his hurt but I believe he would have been hurt by what occurred, and what did happen was a disgrace,” Mr Benbow says.
But what Sunny Singh did next drew widespread praise.
He picked up the phone and called the man, truck driver Grant Moroney.
“I wanted to meet the man who did the video because I really wanted to show him how I am as a person, who we are and what is our culture… if he had known me, he would never have done that,” said Mr Singh.
The two met, and Mr Moroney apologised.
Sunny Singh says now they send messages to each other, and are good friends.
Then came another victory: Mr Singh was elected City Councillor, which has been welcomed by Port Augusta’s Mayor, Brett Benbow.
“I think Sunny will make a very good councillor, he’s approachable, he’s sociable, he’s very community-minded,” said Mr Benbow.
It was a proud moment for a man who’d arrived in Australia with just a few thousand dollars and a couple of suitcases.
“I remember that first when we moved here, we bought all of our groceries from the Shell [service station], because we didn’t know about Coles and Woolworths,” Mr Singh says.
The couple moved to Port Augusta where Sunny Singh worked as a taxi driver.
But life wasn’t always easy in a regional community; the Sikh temple Mr Singh helped set up was repeatedly vandalised.
But he and his wife chose to stay and work through the issue.
“Instead of leaving the town and going to live somewhere else, we should fix the issues we’ve got here,” said Mr Singh.
It's a philosophy he hopes to practise as a local councillor.
To listen to this feature in Punjabi, click on the player at the top of this page.
