The meeting was arranged by Thompson after Papadopoulous asked her to see if she could get him an appointment with Downer. Downer knew who he was because Thompson was the girlfriend (not the fiance) of one of Papadopoulous friends (Cantor, I think his name is, but I'd have to look that up to be sure) and when Papadopoulous heard she worked at the Australian High Commission, he asked her could she get him an appointment with Downer, saying he worked for Donald Trump. That's all Downer knew about him, but as Donald Trump was likely to be the Republican nominee, Downer felt it was worth a short, informal meeting with somebody who said he knew him.
What is your source for that? Link please.
That directly contradicts Downer's recollection of the meeting as he told it to Bolt. He said, "at that stage Trump wasn't even the candidate for the Republicans. He hadn't even won the nomination, so, I mean, this is all taken out of context."
I believe you are wrong. Do you have a source? Papadopolis has said publicly, and in his book, that he did not request the meeting. I strongly suspect he said this under oath as well. Maybe Downer legitimately thought he was on an honest and righteous mission, but if so, got played.
His Excellency the Honourable Alexander Downer, Companion of the Order of Australia, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, High Commmisioner of the Commonwealth of Australia to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
His Excellency? Seriously? You're really gonna post that? You know that "Excellency" carries less than zero credibility here, right?