Due to their novel properties, GaN based semiconductors and their nanostructures are promising components in a wide range of nanoscale device applications. In this work, the gallium nitride is deposited on c-axis oriented sapphire and porous SWCNT substrates by molecular beam epitaxy using a novel single source precursor of Me2Ga(N3)NH2C(CH3)3 with ammonia as an additional source of nitrogen. The advantage of using a single molecular precursor is possible deposition at low substrate temperature with good crystal quality. The deposition is carried out in a substrate temperature range of 600-750oC. The microstructural, structural, and optical properties of the samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and photoluminescence. The results show that substrate oriented columnar-like morphology is obtained on the sapphire substrate while sword-like GaN nanorods are obtained on porous SWCNT substrates with rough facets. The crystallinity and surface morphology of the deposited GaN were influenced significantly by deposition temperature and the nature of the substrate used. The growth mechanism of GaN on sapphire as well as porous SWCNT substrates is discussed briefly.