My personal tribute to Nick Billowes ONZM
There are moments in life that remind you why some things matter more than the noise of the everyday. This week was one of those moments for me.
My good friend and colleague Nick Billowes was presented with the insignia of Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit – awarded for services to education – by Dame Cindy Kiro, the Governor-General. It was a ceremony that had been a long time coming. Nick had actually been appointed to the ONZM in 2023, but illness had prevented him from attending. So when the day finally arrived, it carried with it something extra – a weight of gratitude, of relief, and of celebration from those present who knew what a journey it had been to get to this point.
I had the honour of speaking at the function held afterwards, attended by around thirty of Nick’s closest friends, family and colleagues. And I have to tell you: it was one of the most moving evenings I’ve experienced in a very long time.
A Man Who Never Sought the Limelight
Many readers of this blog may remember Nick as the ‘face’ of the ULearn conferences held in New Zealand – the largest annual conference for educators in NZ, regularly attracting between 1500 and 2000 delegates from across New Zealand and Australia. It would be easy to assume he enjoyed the limelight like this – but if you know Nick, you’d understand that he angsted for hours ahead of such events. He would be deeply uncomfortable being described as remarkable. That discomfort is itself part of what makes him so.
During the course of the evening event with friends and family after his investiture, several people stood up and tried to put into words what Nick has meant to them. And almost every single one of them circled back to the same thing: he never sought the credit. He spent his career finding the best people he could, believing in them, and then quietly stepping back so they could shine.
That’s not a small thing. That’s actually very hard to do. Most of us, at least a little, want to be seen. Nick genuinely didn’t – or if he did, he never let it get in the way of what mattered more.
Four Decades of Quietly Changing Everything
Nick’s career in education spans more than forty years. He started as a science teacher, then spent a decade as Director of the Nelson Education Centre. From there he became one of the founders and principal architects of what would become Tātai Aho Rau Core Education – an organisation that, under his guidance, went on to touch the professional lives of teachers in schools across the country, and eventually beyond our shores.
He led the Ministry of Education’s national ICT Professional Development programme – a landmark initiative that reached nearly 300 clusters of schools, representing some 80% of all schools in New Zealand. He convened the annual uLearn conferences, which drew international participation and became a cornerstone event on the New Zealand education calendar. He oversaw work in Malaysia and the establishment of an early years centre in India. He championed te reo Māori and bicultural practice at a time when many institutions were still treating it as optional.
The citation at the ceremony called it “services to education.” Those who know him would tell you that’s an understatement.
The Glue
One word from the evening has stayed with me more than any other. A colleague who spent nearly a decade working alongside Nick at Core Education described him, simply, as the glue. I think that’s exactly right. And the thing about glue is that it’s invisible when it’s working. You only notice it when something comes apart.
The culture of care that Core Education became known for – the way it looked after its people, the way it showed up for schools, the way it held relationships across the education sector together through leadership transitions and a global pandemic and the upheaval of Canterbury – that didn’t happen by accident. It was built, patiently and deliberately, by a man who understood that how you treat people is inseparable from the quality of what you create together.
Nick knew everyone’s name. He remembered what mattered to people. He was the one who noticed when someone was struggling and quietly did something about it, without fanfare. He showed up. Again and again and again, over four decades – he showed up.
What the Governor-General Said
At the close of the investiture ceremony, the Governor-General offered a reflection that has been turning over in my mind ever since. She quoted the American philosopher and psychologist William James:
“The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”
I don’t think he could have chosen a more fitting thought for Nick. Because that is exactly what Nick has done. The teachers who changed how they teach because of a programme Nick designed. The leaders who took risks on new ideas because Nick told them it was worth it. The conferences that sparked collaborations that are still running today. The young educators who found their confidence, found their direction, found their voice, because someone believed in them before they believed in themselves.
Nick will tell you he was just doing his job. Don’t believe him.
To Nick
Nick, you spent more than forty years quietly building something that will long outlast any of us. You filled rooms with the best people you could find, and then you believed in them until they believed in themselves. You led without needing to be seen leading. You changed thousands of lives – most of whom will never fully know your name.
The ONZM is the system finally catching up to what the people in that room have always known.
I have known you for more than thirty years. I have watched you work. And I want to say this plainly: you are one of those rare people who makes the world genuinely better by being in it.
Congratulations, Nick. This one was a long time coming – and it was absolutely, completely, deservedly yours.
