The earliest record of pineapple plants being grown around Sydney in the British colony of New South Wales was that of Governor King in 1803. However, the climate of a new northern settlement at Moreton Bay (later Brisbane) soon proved to be far more conducive to growing the fruit. Pineapples prospered for over 50 years around Brisbane until a mysterious disease appeared in the late 1890s. In April 1891, Professor Edward Shelton, an American who had been appointed as the Queensland government’s first Instructor in Agriculture, was the first scientist to inspect the affected crops and concluded that the disease was caused by a fungus. In the following year, Shelton, Henry Tryon (then assistant curator at the Queensland Museum) and others again inspected the diseased pineapple crops. Tryon described the symptoms in detail as well as spores which were composed of two rounded elements, each having a double contour (chlamydospores). There is no doubt that the disease was caused by the oomycete Phytophthora cinnamomi that was described decades later. In 1897, Shelton was passionate about agricultural education and was appointed as the first principal of the Gatton Agricultural College, but his disciplining of some students of the college led to his forced resignation just 18 months later.

英国殖民地新南威尔士州悉尼周围种植菠萝植物的最早记录是 1803 年金总督的记录。然而，莫顿湾（后来的布里斯班）北部新定居点的气候很快被证明更有利于菠萝种植。种植水果。布里斯班周围的菠萝繁荣了 50 多年，直到 1890 年代末出现一种神秘疾病。1891年4月，被任命为昆士兰州政府首任农业讲师的美国人爱德华·谢尔顿教授是第一位检查受影响作物的科学家，并得出结论认为这种疾病是由真菌引起的。次年，谢尔顿、亨利·特赖恩（时任昆士兰博物馆助理馆长）等人再次视察了患病的菠萝作物。特赖恩详细描述了症状以及由两个圆形元素组成的孢子，每个元素都有双轮廓（厚垣孢子）。毫无疑问，这种疾病是由几十年后描述的肉桂疫霉菌引起的。1897年，谢尔顿热衷于农业教育，被任命为加顿农学院首任校长，但他对学院部分学生的纪律处分导致他在18个月后被迫辞职。