Congratulations on your purchase! It's exciting to have a first home. I agree with oklouise' advice. Match the weatherboards, insulate (you won't regret this), use quality materials in every regard. I look forward to seeing the result!

Yay how exciting to have comments on my first ever post! hehe. Thanks @oklouise & @annb1997 !
I'm in Brisbane, QLD and we do get pretty crazy weather here with storms and heat, so i definitely do want to get something a little bit hardy. Are you saying 'preferably non wood' because that would be tougher @oklouise ? or another reason?
Because it is a small area i think i can afford a quality material, and because it is the front of the house and in a spot where it will be seen up close (we intend to use the porch quite a bit once it's done up - we already do even in it's current state), I do want a quality finish.
So far we've only done the bathroom and gutted the asbestos kitchen. The kitchen and this front bit are the two focuses right now. Exciting times!

Sorry I should also add, because this wall and whole section was added on to the original house, the 'original' outside wall is now inside. It's wood and not insulated (I don't think they did that back in the day). So essentially there's a small coat area/ entry room which you enter into first, and then go through an open doorway (where the front door would have originally been) into the living area.

You are correct about insulation, either it was non-existent or very minimal. I think it should be added any time you have the opportunity, like during renovation. You could remove a small section of weatherboard and try matching it at a lumberyard or building supplier. I believe you may be able to purchase it already primed, but if not, be sure to prime it properly before painting. A paint shop can match the colour to your existing weatherboards.

Vinyl weatherboard is another option, which may be what oklouise had in mind? They tend to be maintenance-free.

matching the sides is assuming that the sides have already been done with modern cladding and that the corners can be properly sealed to avoid leaks.....one of the Hardies or Scyon weatherboards or similar with modern paints if prepared and applied carefully last many years and don't need ongoing maintenance... it's also worth insulating the roof of the porch to avoid the "hot head" feeling and what about a gabled portico (instead of an arch) to the front entry to add a little bling and disguise the water heater

@annb1997 thank you for your advice. The current cladding on the 3 sides of the house are asbestos. So far, I have decided not to touch them. My thinking currently is to match the cladding if possible... From what I've seen the fibre cement cladding like Nuline could match quite closely. The other option is if I don't find a product that matches is to make it look obviously different, using a different style board and a feature colour. How are the fibre-cement products in terms of quality?

@oklouise ah thank you. A 'gabled portico' is what I thought of too, I didn't know what the name for it is, but i think a simple one of those would do. I will look up Hardies or Scyon, are they fibre-cement?

if the original asbestos walls are in good condition then they can re-be painted but if the walls are too damaged to be saved the asbestos needs to be removed by professionals and the cladding replaced, no reason you can't have different profiles on the front and sides as long as joints and corners are sealed properly but if you plan to install new windows it could be better to wait to repair sections of wall as the windows are replaced (i'd prefer to have all the roof and external walls in good condition and then do the internal work at leisure)... .modern fibrous cements are excellent ...we've just used flat fibrous cement with curved battens over joints and very happy with the results for our 50's house (there are several different brands available through the big hardware stores and research on line is much easier than trying to work out the variations in store) the gabled portico can be made as a separate structure or as a extension to the roof with valley gutters depending on placement of the solar panels (and/or solar panels can be moved)

Here she some info. You will also be able to read about their 25 years warranty.

http://www.jameshardie.com.au/products/weatherboards/scyon-stria-cladding/

Here is more info re vinyl cladding, and their warranty.

https://www.austech.com.au/cladding/duratuff-select-vinyl-cladding?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIua6T7umw1wIVxjUrCh3Gtg8lEAAYAiAAEgLtJPD_BwE

Hardie's Scyon is fibre cement; Austech has vinyl.

@oklouise thanks for the pointers. I've looked up fibre cement versus vinyl - without having seen the product in the flesh i wonder if the vinyl looks high quality enough up-close..? But I do like the idea of them being already coloured.. I'm entertaining the idea of having the front a different colour to the sides, the Austech blue grey looks really cute (on my screen). I don't know if this will look strange or not. The current asbestos exterior is actually in perfect condition. I don't see any danger in leaving it as it, but my partner does point out that when we add a veranda onto the back, we will be cutting a wide entrance into that wall..

cutting into asbestos is ok as long as you seek professional help for the cutting but even a wide opening will be cheaper than removing all the asbestos which has a very long life span if it's in good condition... colour is always a personal choice but one of the advantages of painted fibre cement is that you can try different colours for different areas or change over time while some people will find the permanent colour of the vinyl an advantage but as long as the corners are properly sealed there should be no reason that you can't have vinyl for the new walls and paint the old fibro when needed

Yes i think it would be a pity and costly to remove it. If only asbestos wasn't cancer causing it'd be an awesome product still haha... I thin i'm leaning towards a fibre-cement. Nuline or Hardie.. if it's a good quality product and i can get it professionally installed for not too much cost due to the small area. I'll have to look at the front again with fresh eyes (we've been living in it a few months now and preoccupied with more urgent jobs inside ie bathroom & kitchen..) but looking at photos of when we first bought it and my initial take on it. The front of the house could look really cute and quaint, but you only approach the house from that side if we walk in the front pedestrian access.. while the side of the house visible from the driveway entrance is a bit more modern and has the garage right in front which the driveway leads to.. So it definitely doesn't have that quaint look from that view...