Yes, our harsh Australian environment does hammer our external finishes but if exposed timber is coated with a good quality finish initially ( i recommend 4 coats minimum ) then an ongoing maintenance coat every couple of years, your timber can still look great many years down the track. People just need to understand if you want that beautiful natural timber look you have to put time in to maintain it.

Google Porters Palm Beach Black. Avail in Oz, works on most wood and is an amazing fab colour. I hope to use it on a project someday.

check the Hardies range of cladding eg Panelclad looks similar but the challenge will be to match the stain so you may need to remove a section and ask a paint specialist for advice

Hi Blake, Timber can be a very good choice in exposed seaside areas. You are right it will still require maintenance. I will leave the question of type of timber to the experts, I would also have to do my research to understand this one. Find a good timber supplier or a few and shot these questions to them, you will soon find out who knows their stuff and who is just selling. One pointer that I would give for a sealer is lanotec. It which is lanolin base timber sealer which still allows the timber to grey off and still seal the timber. There maybe other brand of this type of sealer out there these day, I used this many years ago now on a project close to Sydney harbour. An absolute must is the use of Stainless Steel fixings and any accessory. Hope this help in some way.