Nearly start sculpting stone in Tasmania (10)
I believe the answer is:
launceston
'tasmania' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'nearly start sculpting stone' is the wordplay.
'nearly' means to remove the last letter.
'start' becomes 'launch' (launching is a kind of starting).
'sculpting' is an anagram indicator (I've seen 'sculpt' mean this).
'launch' with its last letter taken off is 'launc'.
'stone' anagrammed gives 'eston'.
'launc'+'eston'='LAUNCESTON'
'in' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for launceston that I've seen before include "Town in Cornwall" , "Capital" .)