The town was established in 1902, and was the first officially black residential area in the greater
Port Elizabeth area. Prior to the establishment of New Brighton as the first black township, there was a demolishing of the then Black residential area in 1902 where the personal belongings of the Black residents were arbitrarily destroyed, and restrictions imposed upon their travel outside the demarcated area. The racially segregated township of New Brighton was established in 1902 on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth, some 8 km north of the city centre, to house families who had been forcefully removed in the previous years. Many of
Athol Fugard's plays are set in New Brighton. As part of the governing modus-operandi of the Colonial Government of the 19th century, that would eventually lead to the Land Act of 1913 a decade later, where policy was formulated on the basis of ethnicity, townships, including that of New Brighton, were established for the exclusive use of Black residents who were not housed by employers, and who could not afford to purchase property in the suburbs. In 1855, Stranger's Location, known as Emaxambeni in
isiXhosa was established. Stranger's Location spilled over into Cooper's Kloof in the 1860s and became a separate municipal location in 1877. The Reservoir Location off Mount Road was established by the Municipality in 1883. The largest privately owned township, Gubb's Location, was established in the 1860s. After the first case was reported, the residents from the various townships agreed to meet. During the meeting it was agreed that a single township outside Port Elizabeth had to be built. Following recommendations from public health officials, demolished houses numbered 325 in Port Elizabeth and 950 in the Stranger's location, The Reservoir Location and Gubb's Location townships in 1903. The establishment of New Brighton was facilitated by the Colonial Government's purchase of the farms known as Cradock Place and Deal Party for the sum of £20,000. The portion set for the establishment of New Brighton was situated north of Port Elizabeth in an area which was deemed unsuitable for industrial use. The choice of a site for New Brighton outside the town's boundaries was determined by favourable health conditions in the area, and the fact that it would allow for effective residential segregation. These were on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth, far away from the city centre and white suburbs where New Brighton residents were employed. In its very early days, Port Elizabeth was planned in a manner that did not allow for different races to mix and this was spelt out as such in colonial policy and regulations. White and Coloured people, even though New Brighton was established as an exclusively Black township, flouted Government rules and built homes in New Brighton, albeit only a few. By the year 1911, New Brighton’s population had grown to 3,650 persons, almost all of them Black: 52 Whites, 3,414 Black Africans and 184 Coloureds. The oldest and most iconic location within the New Brighton area is the Red Location, which was developed in 1902-1903, and made up of corrugated iron shacks which were built in a barrack-type fashion. Accommodation for individuals in New Brighton was allotted on a first-come, first-served basis. The Government initially planned to rehouse only about 1,500 people in the Location even though estimates suggested that about three times that number of Africans resided in Port Elizabeth and slum areas, and that a similar number lived outside the municipal boundaries. Huts were erected in this order: one and two-bedroomed family accommodation for 'ordinary native labourers' and 'civilised natives' also known as Class A and B, and dormitories for 'single men' called Class C. Rents in New Brighton of between 20s. and 30s. per month for family quarters and 8s. per month for single quarters (Class C). At the end of 1903 the population of New Brighton was 2,125. Some residents from the demolished townships of Stranger's location, The Reservoir Location and Gubb's Location refused to move to New Brighton and opted for Korsten. In Korsten, they could own land. By January 1910, the population of New Brighton had reached 3,156. ==New Brighton today==