James Grassie appears to have lived in the Portland region of Western Victoria during the 1850s and 1860s. A brief item in the Argus, 28 October, 1867, (p.5), indicates that James Grassie (then of Strathdownie), had prepared for publication a 2 volume work titled 'Legends of Australia', which was evidently a translation of Aboriginal stories. However it is unclear whether the work was ever actually published. Further biographical details remain to be established.