Scobie was born in Ararat, Victoria, or perhaps nearby Moyston, a son of stonemason William Scobie and his wife Marion Scobie, née McVicar.S. J. Routh, 'Scobie, James (1860–1940)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1988, accessed online 25 July 2017 He was educated at Ararat, and at the age of 12 began working with horses.
