The memorial is an inscribed plaque mounted on stone monument situated on a raised dais and partially fenced off.

At the outbreak of the war in the Pacific, Australia garrisoned the islands of New Britain, Ambon and Timor to protect certain airfields and anchorages of strategic importance. In each case, a battalion with supporting arms and services was dispatched and each force had a bird codename. The garrison at Kupang in Western Timor, comprising 2/40th Battalion and supporting elements, was Sparrow Force.

It was overwhelmed by a Japanese division late in February 1942 and sustained heavy casualties. Most of the survivors were taken prisoner but those few who escaped to East Timor mounted a guerrilla campaign against the occupying Japanese forces. Many of Sparrow Force’s casualties now lie buried in the Ambon War Cemetery, Indonesia.

The proposal to erect the Sparrow Force Memorial was developed by veterans in 1990 and its construction was funded by the veteran community with a contribution by the Office of Australian War Graves. On 16 June 1992, the memorial was unveiled at Oesau Ridge near Kupang.

In the intervening years, the Sparrow Force memorial sustained considerable damage and deterioration. An extensive restoration, including provision of a new bronze memorial plaque acknowledging the entire Sparrow Force Order of Battle, was arranged by OAWG through AusAid officers engaged in a water supply project in Timor. Arrangements for the protection and maintenance of the memorial have also been made with the landowner on whose property it is located.

Village of Oesau, Indonesia.

The memorial is on the island of West Timor, Indonesia and is located 30km from Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara province, in the village of Oesau. It is situated on a low knoll about 50m from the road on the left hand side as one heads east along the road to Atambua.