After almost 30 years of getting up at 4am six days a week to deliver newspapers around Alexandra, he is calling it quits and shifting to Tauranga.
This is his last full week on the job before the move.
Mr van Welie (40) says three decades of early starts have not been a struggle.
"I always set the alarm clock, just as a backup, but I haven't really needed it yet because I don't sleep in. My body clock is set that way and I'm used to it.
It's hard for me to sleep in now.
I'm still up at 5 or 5.30 on a Sunday."
His superior for the past 25 years, Wayne Soper, says his longest-serving paper boy is also the most reliable.
"I've slept in three times over my years delivering the papers - and Stefan woke me up two of those times."
The dedication shown by Mr van Welie was remarkable, Mr Soper said.
"It's hard to get someone who will work six days a week, getting up at that time and working those hours, but he's never let me down."
"Once he even discharged himself from hospital early, so he could be home in time to do his paper run ... "
In latter years, Mr van Welie has done the daily newspaper run from Mr Soper's truck, but before that, he delivered papers on his bike.
He is still a familiar sight around town on his bike, dropping off pamphlets or delivering community newspapers, always wearing his high-visibility vest and a bike helmet.
"That's one of the things that's changed over the years I've been in this job - the safety rules, under OSH." He was aged about 9 when he started the job "to get some pocket money", and he still loves it.
"Everyone knows me and lots of people say hello. I'll talk to anyone who's on the street."
Being a truck driver was his "dream job" but he needed a heavy traffic licence to achieve that goal.
"This job is pretty good, though. You get lots of exercise and you get paid while you're doing it."
Dogs were a hazard of the job, but that was the only drawback, he said.
"I've seen a lot of dogs over the other side of the fence. I've been bitten two or three times and some have come after me, but I haven't had that much trouble.
"Some come along for a walk with me as I go up the street."
Mr van Welie was born and bred in Alexandra and admits shifting away will be a wrench, but says it will be nice to live closer to his siblings and mother.
His mother, Ruth, and sister Liz, a swimmer who competed at the Olympic Games in 2000 and won a Commonwealth Games silver in 2002, are both in Tauranga. His two brothers will also be nearby.
Mr van Welie said Mr Soper "gives me a bit of stick sometimes, but he looks out for me too ... he'll miss me like hell when I'm gone."
Otago Daily Times distribution manager Warren Godfrey also praised Mr van Welie's dedication, saying he had "done an excellent job for us over the three decades he's delivered our papers".
