New Brighton is a township in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It forms part of the greater township of Ibhayi and the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality which governs Port Elizabeth and its surroundings. History It 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, Gubbs Location, was established in the 1860s. A case of bubonic plague in Gubb's Location in 1901 set in place events that led to demolition of these townships and the creation of New Brighton. Port Elizabeth recorded a total of 105 cases - 21 Whites and 84 Blacks - of bubonic plague in 1901. This was the direct result of Argentinian fodder and horses being imported into South Africa by the British military during the South African War. 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 number 325 in Port Elizabeth and 950 in the Stranger's location, The Reservoir Location and Gubb's Location townships in 1903.