Introduction
I was fortunate to meet dedicated Spiritualists Fred and Liz Welling in the mid 2000s during my newfound spiritual church travels in Adelaide, South Australia. As a non-religious and non-churchgoing woman, I felt like a bit of a misfit but my new partner was an evidential medium who decided to resume public demonstrations in local spiritual churches and community halls, so I trotted around with him and learned a lot along the way. Curiously, the spiritualist community was frowned upon by certain mainstream religious institutions, some going as far as calling it a devil worshipping cult. This made me laugh because the spiritualist churches and halls were just friendly gathering places for people from all walks of life who were looking for solace, healing, friendship and perhaps a message from a loved one in spirit or psychic guidance about their personal circumstances. No harm in that. For some reason, the spiritualist churches also attracted many ex-Catholics but I never got around to asking why.
By that stage, I had read books about exceptional mediums over the years but had only experienced one sitting with a Sydney based medium who was recommended to me. Disappointingly, she was clearly under developed, made things up as she went along and was more interested in selling me her potions on the way out. But when I met my former partner at a spiritual development group, I was floored by his on-target, specific, accurate messages from loved ones in spirit. I’m not talking about psychic impressions, predictions, generalisations or snippets of ‘possible’ messages. I am talking about detailed, evidential and relevant messages that also gifted me with profound healing and renewed strength in the process. He described himself as being ‘just a postman for spirit’ and gave exactly what he heard, felt and was shown.
Evidential medium Fred Welling had been a significant mentor to my former partner, especially in his earlier days when he became a popular demonstrator in the spiritual churches - until spirit temporarily ‘sanctioned’ his mediumship gift when his ego ran away from him. He credited Fred for teaching him to put his mediumship and ego aside, and focus on personal development and the vital facets of mediumship development that too many ‘pop-up’ mediums seem to bypass in their quest for fame these days. This phenomenon has increased exponentially with the rise of the internet.
After moving on from that particular life chapter in 2013, I took a break from the spirit world for a few years ad started helping out chief editor Jock Brocas with his Afterlife Magazine. In 2020, I contacted Liz to see if she and Fred were interested in sharing some of their personal spiritual experiences and we eventually published two articles. Brocas later decided to integrate the Afterlife Magazine with Paranormal Daily News, and some of the articles were republished, including Fred Wellings’ engaging story: How a Ghost Inspired a Profound Spiritual Journey. More recently, I decided to republish the Still Here: Our Near Death Experiences article. This time, I thought it best to check in with Liz and Fred to see if they were both still here, given that Fred was grappling with health issues in 2020.
Farewell to an exceptional medium
Sadly, Liz informed me that Fred died in August, 2025 after spending his last ten months of life in a nursing home when it became hard for him to walk. She also shared that she had received a message in one of the churches that Fred had not “been around” much as he was busy trying to sort out problems on the other side. They worked out that he is continuing his spiritual work with souls who have passed into the spiritual world but don’t realize that they are “dead”, and is helping them settle into their new lives. I was not surprised to hear this because Fred was such a helpful, generous and compassionate soul during his earthly life, not to mention an exceptional evidential medium.
Liz kindly agreed share her more recent experiences with the PDN community and honour the memory of her dearly loved and dearly missed husband. The rest of this article is comprised of a collection of anecdotes written by both Liz and Fred Welling, starting with Fred’s passing and an “out of this world” surprise for Liz.
They are as Close as Our Next Breath
Written by Liz Welling
When Fred was about 81 years of age, he was diagnosed with a large aneurysm leading down to his kidney. The hospital decided to monitor the growth of this aneurysm and within two years it had grown to the extent that surgery was recommended.
My husband elected not to proceed with the surgery for fear of major complications. For the next eight years we lived with a ticking time bomb knowing that the aneurysm could burst at any time and that death would be fast and painful.
However, we continued our life of Service to Spirit. Fred was the evidential medium and I accompanied him on the platform giving the talk. We worked as a team. Fred had been a Spiritualist all his life. He demonstrated on platforms in England before coming to live in Australia and was passionate about letting people know that their loved ones lived on beyond what we call “death”. He used to say that they are “as close to us as our next breath”.
There came a time when Fred’s health declined dramatically and he went to live in a nursing home at Morphettville. Luckily it was close by and I was able to visit him, usually six times a week. Fred and I had done everything together for 33 years and both felt as though part of us was missing when we had to live apart.
In April 2025, Fred was admitted to hospital on three occasions and I had to use the “do not resuscitate” order that Fred had set in motion. On each occasion, Fred was discharged and returned by ambulance to the Morphettville nursing home.
On 31 August 2025, I visited Fred at lunchtime and then proceeded to St John’s Spiritual Church for their afternoon service. When I pulled into the carport at home, my phone started ringing and I received a message that Fred was being sent by ambulance to hospital as he was in pain. I was told not to follow the ambulance. The doctor would ring from hospital and advise me of the situation. Being very worried, I tried at least three times to get through to the hospital but the phone in Emergency was continually engaged. I went to the toilet and of course the doctor rang in this time frame but did not leave a message. He contacted my daughter who let me know that she had been contacted as I was unavailable, and that we were to go to the hospital immediately.
I travelled there by taxi, silently saying, “Fred, Tanya and I are on our way. It would be good if you can wait until we get there before leaving your body but if not, then that’s okay but we’re on our way. I love you.”
When we arrived, I was taken into a small room and asked to wait as there was a commotion in emergency. I asked if Fred was dead and they said, “No, you’ll be with him in a few minutes." When I saw Fred, a very caring doctor was holding his hand and his head. The aneurysm had burst and he had been given fentanyl for the severe pain. I looked into my husband’s eyes and said, “When you see the light, to go to it,” and then continued, “but you already know that don’t you! I’m preaching to the converted, sorry about that!” Then my daughter entered the room and held his hand.
Fred was unable to speak but the awareness in his eyes told me that he knew we were there. There was no great fanfare. All was calm in the room. I was not aware of any spirit friends or loved ones being present and Fred was unable to speak.
Within 10 minutes, my daughter noticed that he was not breathing. He had passed to the “other side” where he knew his parents and first wife would be waiting for him. Fred’s body was moved to another room and we were allowed to remain there for the next two hours. His other daughter who had further to drive, arrived during this time frame and sat with us. We talked. We laughed. We cried. The love in the room was powerful.
The following day I went to the nursing home and several of the staff were in tears. Fred had been a favourite resident as he was so grateful for the attention he received and would often call the staff “Angels” and thank them for helping him. The nurse had been stunned to have received the report from the hospital as she was expecting a fourth discharge notice, but not this time!
The Celebration of Fred’s Life Service was going to be family only. However, as news of his physical death circulated we ended up having about 80 people at the service which went for over 90 minutes and concluded with a beautiful ceremony from the Freemasons.
Fred and I had not arranged for any specific message to be relayed to me from a medium as he said he would always come direct to me when there was a need. However, I knew that he was keen to explore his new surroundings and that there would be many people there to greet him. I miss him dearly and in the early weeks, would sometimes “roar” with grief. There had also been no direct contact from Fred to me.
Proof of Love Beyond Death
On the third Monday before Christmas 2025, I went to a meditation group at Brighton. This was their Christmas break up. I returned home, feeling numb and still unable to comprehend that Fred was no longer physically on earth. It was and still is, surreal.
The next day I went up to my car, opened the door and was most annoyed to find that there was a mess on the passenger seat cover. There appeared to be a handful of “dead flowers” which I scooped up and threw in the rubbish bin. The car door had been locked all night and all the windows were in the upright position. Obviously no one had gained entrance. So what was going on? No logical explanation.
I was walking back to the front door of the unit when I suddenly stopped in my tracks and the word “apport” flashed into my mind. A friend had received an apport from her family member many years ago and told us about it. I upended the rubbish bin and was able to retrieve about a tiny fingernail full of what I considered to be a “mess” from the bin.
It turned out to be a very delicately formed group of dried buds. I took them inside and spread them out on paper so that I could take a photograph. The photos in this article do not do the colour justice as they were a colour and a flower that is not seen on earth. I sent a copy to a close friend of mine from Elizabeth Spiritualist Church and she agreed that, without any other explanation, (NOE) it had to be an apport from Fred showing his love.
She agreed that what I had received was not from this world but transported by love and energy across time and space. A direct way to show that love continues beyond the veil.
As an aside: I had to throw away the seat cover as I could not get the upright part of the cover clean. Tiny particles of the “apport” had embedded themselves into the cover. In retrospect, I wish I had kept that seat cover!
Editor’s Note: More than 70 apports were received in total during the Scole Experimental sessions (1993-1998). An apport (from the French apporter, ‘to bring’), is a physical object which appears in a room or other enclosed space into which orthodox entry is impossible. This implies that the apport has had to pass through matter. The Scole Group reported that the arrival of an apport was announced by the sound of a loud thud, either on the floor or on the table. (Source: The Scole Experiment)
Further research has also been done to locate this flower bud species on earth. At the time of writing, we are still looking. If you find ane exact match, please let us know in the comments.
When Fred Met Liz
Written by Fred and Liz Welling
Fred Welling was in his late 20s and living in Shirley, Southampton UK when his first wife Doreen needed major surgery. Fred signed the papers to authorize it, as the alternative was death. Sadly, Doreen died on the operating table and for many decades, Fred felt responsible for her death because he signed the consent forms.
Even though Fred had been born into a spiritually aware family, in the midst of his grief he demanded that God prove and let him know if there really was life beyond death. He spoke to a Methodist Church Minister where he had been a young choir boy and asked if he KNEW that there was life beyond the physical but the response was: Just believe. Have faith and just believe. Naturally, that did not satisfy Fred’s inquiring mind, so he visited a Spiritualist Church seeking answers.
One afternoon, a medium on the church platform was an old lady who was almost blind. Fred sat at the back of the church, and despite not being able to see him, she singled him out and gave incredible details of his relationship with Doreen – information that was known only to Fred. She also emphasized that Doreen did not hold him responsible for her death and that it was simply her time to leave the physical world.
Fred later remarried (another Doreen). She had a 4 year old daughter named Patricia, whom Fred adopted. Doreen and Fred were also blessed with another daughter, Barbara, and the family migrated to Australia in 1969. They lived in Sydney, New South Wales before moving to a home in Hope Valley, Adelaide, South Australia and not long after that, they found a Spiritualist Church in the northern suburb of Elizabeth.
Some years later, the family had been enjoying a day at the beach and whilst driving home, Fred started to feel dizzy and unwell. He managed to open the car door and enter the house, and intended to go straight to bed but the next thing he knew, the floor came up to meet him and he passed out.
Fred found himself in a tunnel and at the end of the tunnel, two beings of light informed that it was not his time and that he had to return. The love h felt was so incredible and unconditional that Fred fell to his knees, pleading with them to stay but they insisted that his family still needed him in the physical world and he was sent back. He awoke and went to bed and slept for 12 hours – something he had never done before nor since.
The next day, Fred remembered his demand to God that he be given proof of life beyond the physical realm. In a dramatic way, God had answered his demand and Fred was very grateful that he was able to drive home safely before having the experience.
In 1987, Fred and a friend visited the library where Liz worked as a chief librarian. They inquired about the possibility of doing a display on crystals for his friend’s son who was completing a Duke of Edinburgh award. The library had just been extended and Liz was delighted to have an instant display that could tie in with their books about crystals.
After that she began to see Fred around Adelaide in various meditation groups and they started going out together in 1992. At that stage, she had just started giving talks in local spiritualist churches and given that Fred was a medium, she asked him if he would team up with her to give mediumship demonstrations. That marked the beginning of a long and spirited journey, and they married in October, 1995.
Roar of Death – Maleny 2001
Written by Fred and Liz Welling
It was the Sunday after 9/11 and Fred and Liz were attending a service at the White Eagle Lodge, Maleny Queensland. Ivan Cooke, the Grandson of Grace Cooke (who channeled White Eagle) was present and had just led a beautiful Opening Prayer.
Suddenly there was an almighty roar and Fred collapsed forward in his chair. The next thing he remembers was sitting in the chair, which had been carried with him in it, to the kitchen. He was surrounded by several concerned women and a bucket of water that had been collected from his body.
People in The Temple were commenting that it was a “heart attack”. Hoping that Fred could hear at some level, Liz assured them that his heart was strong and healthy, as it had been checked before they left Adelaide.
He was taken by ambulance to the Maleny Hospital where he was given a heart check and his records from Adelaide were sent to the hospital. The Doctor diagnosed “dehydration” and explained that the almighty roar was the sound made by some people at the actual moment of death. He said Fred had come as close to death as possible without actually dying.
The roar sound was very different from the death rattle Fred was familiar with from hospice work and he commented that this time, there was no welcoming tunnel or Beings of Light.
Liz Welling also had a Near Death Experience (NDE) about 35 years before, and her recollection also involved the widely documented tunnel of white light. As she floated along the tunnel, Liz telepathically heard the voices of her parents’ friends and then two Beings of Light, who clairaudientIy said: Your children are too young. You must go back. She awoke in intense pain and her young children phoned a doctor who came to the home and injected her with pethidine.
Not Without Fred
Written by Liz Welling
In July 2016, Fred and Liz attended a retreat led by Gay Robinson and Lyn Edwards at The White Eagle Lodge, Maleny, in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast hinterland. Maleny is situated on the southern edge of the Blackall Range with spectacular views across to the Sunshine Coast and Glass House Mountains.
Each day at the retreat there was an hour’s ‘cellular meditation’ starting at 8.00am, followed by breakfast, a talk and another one-hour meditation. During the retreat, I had three incredible experiences:
1. Wednesday 5 July, 2016 – Meditation led by Gay
The meditation format included a short track of quiet music, a guided journey to the higher realms of light, silence, quiet music and return to everyday awareness. There was no debriefing but the retreat participants were instructed to return silently to their rooms and not to speak for an hour until lunch time.
Following Gay’s initial guidance, she saw wild flowers in her meditation, including daffodils, primroses and snow drops but for some reason, she found it hard to enter the Pool of Healing. The pool was pink with floating pink lotus flowers.
They were asked to look for elementals (nature spirits) and she saw a tiny round light which is the sylph or zephyr elemental of air. Struggling to follow the meditation, she decided to use the Eagle from her previous day’s meditation and followed it into the higher realms. Then, a spinning vortex/tunnel of beautiful purple/pink amethyst energy formed.
A spirit being manifested at the end of it and she heard an inner voice telepathically ask, “Do you want to come?” Very quiet, yet powerful and loving.
Instantly, she replied: “Not without Fred” and the Being of Light and the amethyst tunnel vanished.
Intense, sharp pain immediately hit her upper transverse colon and she had to move away from the group to sit on some carpeted stairs. She writhed in agony until the meditation finished and the stabbing pain continued. She tried to use the Golden Light of The Christ Consciousness – the Golden One – for healing but still the pain intensified. Tears of pain streamed down her face.
At the end of the meditation and final music track, she tried to stand up to return to her room, but was bent over double in pain. Gay realised something was wrong and asked what happened.
“I have to tell Fred first,” she replied. The three of them went back to the bedroom leaving the other nine members of the group wondering what had taken place. She dissolved into more tears because she had not mentioned to the Being of Light that her daughter Tanya may still need her, as she was due for major surgery when they returned from Maleny. (Fred later told Liz that from his experience of an NDE, family is not even on your mind.)
Throughout the whole experience, everything had been so natural and matter of fact.
“Do you want to come?”
“Not without Fred.”
In retrospect, it was an opportunity to leave her physical body behind and make the transition to the next stage of life beyond physical death. Her reply, Not without Fred was very interesting, as the previous day, Fred had shared with several of the retreat women that “he had a contract with God that Liz and he would die at the same time.”
One of the women asked Liz what she thought about it and she merely shrugged. The woman responded, “You don’t seem to be a part of it,” and answered that she was not sure if God had accepted Fred’s contract.
Fred was quite relieved with Liz’s answer as he did not want to be left on his own if she died first. Nine years later, in August 2025, Fred passed away with Liz and daughter Tanya by his side, and were later joined by his other daughter, as previously mentioned.
2. Thursday 6 July, 2016 – Meditation led by Lyn
The retreat participants lay on the floor in the Temple rugged up in warm doonas, practising a daily exercise known as ‘Cellular Alchemy’; an hour-long process in which Golden Light is brought into every part of the body including all the cells, nerves, tissues, blood, veins, arteries and organs.
Part way through the practice, Liz felt a magenta/purple feathery presence above her and an inner voice -again telepathic - that said: “I am your Overlighting Angel.”
Her response was simply: “Oh, are you?”
This Overlighting Angel felt very comforting and protective. Retreat participants were not permitted to use telephones or the internet whilst on retreat but after this meditation, Liz was very naughty and sent a text message to a friend in the Clare Prophet Summit Lighthouse movement. She asked if he knew about the Overlighting Angel. His reply was no but he Googled it and confirmed that it was a very protective energy.
Still curious, Liz did some research once they returned home and found that the Devas or Overlighting Angels are part of Theosophy. They “interface” with the human soul while in form and are responsible for the life vitality of the human form. The Archangels are also referred to as the Overlighting Angels, since their function is to overlight or watch over and direct groups of angels, as well as all aspects of humanity. (Source: The Vibrational Healer.)
The four Archangels we are most familiar with are Gabriel, Michael, (deep blue colour) Raphael, and Uriel. (Source: Angelfire.) Whatever name is given to these beautiful beings, it is obvious that Liz was very close to physical death.
3. Thursday 6 July, 2016 – Meditation led by Gay
The meditation group was taken to The Lake of Peace and they ‘magically’ crossed it in a small canoe with their Guide and Guardian Angel. They were instructed to climb the mountain to a plateau where they would meet souls they had known who were gathering to perform an ancient ritual to bring in the Dawn and gather rays from the Solar Logos – the Golden One – to bless earth and all humanity.
Liz met several family members and Fred’s previous mother-in-law. Again, for the second time, a voice asked: “Do you want to come?” No beautiful amethyst tunnel this time but the same, calm voice asking, “Do you want to come?”
“No thank you.”
A second opportunity to exit the physical body and make the transition to the worlds of spirit. Again, all very natural and matter of fact.
Before lunch that day, Liz was looking at the trees that led down to the valley and they were all different – more vibrant and more alive. She was actually seeing the etheric part of the trees and leaves. It was like entering a fairy world.
Before these experiences, although cold, she had felt OK. But when she looked in the mirror, she commented to Fred that one of her eyes was only partly open and that both eyes looked full of pain. When she had partly processed the experience, she shared it with the other retreat members. They were very supportive and one of them commented: “What a pity you did not actually go over and then change your mind and come back and tell us about it.”
Liz replied that there was an inner knowing that if she had accepted the invitation to depart, there would be no return ticket included. Make or break. In hindsight, it was a timely experience, as she had been in so much pain at home before they left Adelaide, and in an outburst, had said: “I have had enough. I wish I were dead. I want it all to end.”
Moral of the story: Be careful what you wish for. It might just come true.
When they returned home from Queensland, Fred said: “I was doing an hour-long meditation at a retreat in Maleny when I suddenly had a vision of a garden of flowers of many colours not seen on earth. I knew that if I entered this garden, I would not return to earth. I did not wish to leave my wife Elizabeth so I did not enter the garden.”
Gratitude for Incredible Experiences
Written by Fred Welling, March 2020
In the mid 1990’s I was working as a volunteer at the Mary Potter Hospice, North Adelaide, South Australia. I often sat and talked with a lady from the Riverland and we had many interesting conversations. She told me that she had done everything in her life that she needed to do and was ready to leave this world. She believed in a life beyond the physical.
One morning I arrived at the Hospice and wanted to see her immediately but was asked by the nursing staff to shave a man whose family was coming to visit him. This I did, and when I had finished and cleaned up, I wanted to see the lady but was informed that she had died.
I was given permission to sit with her for a short while, so I sat and held her hand and expressed appreciation for the time we had shared. Then I saw an energy moving away from her physical form and moving upwards. From this vision I knew that the separation from the lady’s physical body was complete and I wished her well in her new life.
When I left the room, Sister Shirley was outside and she asked me what had happened. When I told her, the nun smiled, nodded and gave me the “thumbs up” sign.
I am very grateful for having been granted these incredible experiences.
Editor’s note: Many of us Adelaidians are grateful for having had the opportunity to witness Fred’s compelling mediumship demonstrations and Liz’s enlightening talks, and their development circles were also a blessing. Both Fred and Liz were, and still are, a formidable spiritual team. Sincere condolences to Liz and family for their loss.
