Born on 14 April 1905 in
Adelaide,
South Australia, Homesdale Nitschke was the son of Carl Hermann Wilhelm Luder Richard "C. H." Nitschke (1866–1922). C.H. bought
Hiltaba sheep station in the
Gawler Ranges in 1918, and Homesdale ran it for some time. He built the current homestead in 1936, before his marriage. His uncle,
Richard Nitschke, was a famous
baritone. Nitschke's grandfather Wilhelm Nitschke (c. 1817–1889) was the founding owner of the
Hackney Distillery. ==Career==